Page 36 of Welcome to Forever
They didn’t need to talk about it now, though. They also didn’t need to talk about her sex life, or lack thereof.
“Okay, another subject change.” Kat started on the first topic that popped into her mind. “So, there’s a little girl in the Friendship Club, Shelby Cooke. She’s had a rough life so far. Her father’s in jail for abusing her and her sister, among other things.”
Julie was looking at her again, her shoulders relaxed. “That’s terrible.”
Kat rolled her lips together, hating this topic as much as the last. But at least this one had a happy ending. “Shelby is safe now, but she’s dealing with a lot emotionally. She’s lashed out at her teachers and some of the other students. I don’t like it, but I’ve had to ask her to stay after school several times already this year.”
Julie nodded, urging Kat to continue.
“Anyway, I overhead Shelby talking to one of the plants this week, just like Ben. The children are only supposed to say positive things, and she was, but I don’t think Shelby has had a lot of experience with being spoken to nicely.”
“What was she saying?” Julie asked.
“Actually, she wasn’t talking. She was singing a song her mother used to sing to her when she was alive.”
Julie shuddered as she rubbed her hands along her arms. “I just got chills. That’s amazing.”
“What we’re doing for these kids is going to make a difference.”
“Yeah. Sounds like it.” Julie pulled another stick of gum from her purse and popped it into her mouth. “And you’re probably right.”
Furrowing her brow, Kat glanced across the seat. Her sister never admitted that she was right about anything. “Right about what?”
“You shouldn’t have sex with this guy, whoever he is. Definitely not. The way your eyes light up when you talk about him, you’d lose your heart fast. He can’t be your rebound guy.”
“John died two years ago. I’m way past a rebound guy.”
“But you’re still wearing his ring.” Julie gestured at Kat’s finger. “So you’re actually not past rebounding. And this guy sounds like he’s perfect for you. He’s into teaching kids and saving the world. Right up your alley. So I suggest you stay as far away from him as you possibly can.”
Chewing her lower lip, Kat pulled into the Veterans’ Center parking lot, noticing Val’s car parked on the side. Val often baked goodies for the local veterans and dropped them off. It was the closest she got to representing the preacher’s daughter that everyone expected her to be.
Kat parked and turned to her sister. “Micah, the school’s groundskeeper, is the one taking me to the Marine Corps ball.” Her voice was flat, hammered down by the truth of Julie’s words. Micahwasthe perfect guy for her.
“The lawn guy is also the Marine? The hot guy from the bar?” Julie clarified, pushing her neck forward in disbelief.
Panic rose in Kat’s chest. “Yep.”
Julie snickered. “Sister, you are in deep trouble.”
Micah stared at the woman standing across the store for a long second.
“Earth to Mikie.” Lawson snapped a finger in front of him. “Who are you staring at anyway?” Lawson’s gaze followed his and stopped. “Oh. Kat and that other girl from Heroes.” A wide grin spread across his unshaven face. “The one you’re intent on telling me you’re not interested in. Even though you were more than happy to take her home that night.”
Something protective rumbled through Micah and his jaw tightened. “I just dropped her off at her house. She’d had too much to drink.”And she’d been an adorable drunk.He jabbed a finger in Lawson’s shoulder. “And didn’t you end up taking Kat’s sister home that night?”
Lawson nodded, a fond smile forming on his face. “I think she liked me. It’s hard to say because she was too busy fussing at the brunette that I also took home.” He frowned as his gaze slid toward Micah. “I’d like to tell you they were fighting over me, but”—he shook his head—”the cowboy hat has lost its mojo, man. And unless they’re actually clawing at each other and pulling each other’s clothes off, it’s not pleasant to watch two women fight.”
Micah chuckled, returning his attention to Kat, who was still browsing through the dresses, no doubt looking for one to wear to the ball in a few weeks. His heart sped up just thinking about holding her close against him. He imagined whispering how beautiful she was in her ear and watching her skin flush with each compliment. He liked that about her. She had no idea how heart-stopping she was, and no idea what a turn-on her dedication to her job was.
“I’m tired of looking. What do you think of this one?” Lawson held up a tiny white child’s dress with lace edges. “Think Sabrina will wear this one?”
An image of Lawson’s three-year-old niece came to mind. “She’d look adorable in anything,” Micah said, grinning at the boyish nature his friend took on when he talked about the little girl.
“And if she takes after her mother, she’ll continue with that trend, and you and I will be kicking some teenaged ass in a few years.”
Micah raised a brow and returned his attention to Kat, who was now holding up a long, black dress with rhinestones accenting the collar. She’d look gorgeous in it. His gaze caught on the low-cut front. If she wore that, he’d be too busy drooling to speak that night.
“You want to go over there and say something, or should we continue being the creepy stalkers across the store?”
